146th Preakness Stakes: NBC's Pimlico Setup Builds on Onsite Derby Production Health and safety protocols are eased with changing CDC guidelines By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, May 14, 2021 - 2:06 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
After a return to big-time onsite productions at the Kentucky Derby, NBC Sports is at Pimlico this weekend for the second gem in horseracing's Triple Crown. All three of NBC's 2020 Triple Crown races were produced remotely, with the production team located at NBC Sports' production-operations center in Stamford, CT. This year, however, the production team is back at Pimlico, along with Director, Sports Operations, Tim Dekime and Senior Technical Manager John Roch , who were focused on NBC Sunday Night Football during last year's delayed race in October.
Since [the Preakness and Derby took place during] football season last year, John and I couldn't even be here, says Dekime. So [Technical Manager] Keith Kice was able to focus on this while we were focused on NFL, which created some continuity since he knows [Triple Crown productions] well. This year, it's really good to be back and have a full operation onsite again.
Stamford Still in the Mix: Editing and Graphics Operate Remotely NBC Sports' Tim Dekime (left) and John Roch at the Pimlico truck compound for the Preakness
At the Preakness this weekend, NBC's primary production team will once again be housed in NEP ND1 A, B, C, and D mobile production units - as was the case at Churchill Downs. Unlike at the Derby, though, NBCSN's broadcast also will be produced out of ND1 instead of in Stamford.
I think the 2020 [Derby] was a different year altogether, but we learned a lot, says Dekime. This year at the Derby, we did a hybrid [production] of what we did in 2020 and our [traditional onsite] setup that we had done in the past. Our NBCSN broadcasts were produced and directed through Stamford, and our NBC network broadcasts were done onsite with ND1, so we eliminated a TV truck that was dedicated to NBCSN in the past, and those cameras were streamed back to Stamford.
However, with far fewer hours of NBCSN programming for the Preakness than for the Derby, NBC elected to locate all productions onsite in ND1. Although the front bench will be in Baltimore, the bulk of NBC's graphics and editing teams will once again be in Stamford, deploying the same setup as for the Derby.
We have a lot of editing being done back in Stamford, along with our graphics operations, and that worked out really well [for the Derby], says Roch . It's very similar to what we do for Sunday Night Football, so we just basically mirrored that. The only difference with football is, there are a lot more cameras coming from the site. But it has been successful, and I think everybody thought was a good formula [for the Preakness].
According to Roch , NBC has deployed 31 cameras at Pimlico, primarily a mix of Sony HDC-4300's (including four in 6X-slo-mo mode), 2500's, and 1500's plus one HDC-4800 4K high-speed system and one HDC-P1R POV - all with Canon lenses. BSI is also on hand supplying seven RF cameras.
As CDC guidelines continue to evolve, so too do NBC's onsite safety protocols. For example, if on-air talent is vaccinated, they now need to be separated by only 3 ft. - instead of 6 ft.. - on the set or in the announce booth.
We still have very stringent safety protocols, notes Dekime, but, as CDC guidelines are changing, so are ours. We are still [enforcing] mask wearing and social distancing. We also have rented a large catering trailer so people could be separated during meals, as well as additional office trailers so we didn't have our talent and staff crowded together in one small area. Even as [protocols] change, we certainly continue to do a lot to create more space so we can social-distance.
Despite the lessening of social-distancing regulations, NBC's main set will be the same expanded desk used at the Derby, allowing all talent to be separated by 6 ft. Dekime expects the set at the Belmont next month to have a more traditionally sized set.
In order to have a larger depth, we have to [expand everything] from the platforms to the lighting, says Dekime. We have a pretty elaborate lighting truss set up and have heightened the rooftop to account for the larger desk and the lighting.
A Look Back at the Derby: Drone Is Popular with Crew and Viewers The Derby truck compound at Churchill Downs last month
Though not deployed at Pimlico this weekend, the drone that debuted on NBC's Derby coverage was a hit among production personnel and viewers. Provided by Beverly Hills Aerial (which also provided the drone for NBC's outdoor NHL game in Lake Tahoe), the heavy-payload drone featured a Sony HDC-P50 camera and captured shots never before seen in Derby telecasts.
They loved the drone in the production room, and it got some great shots, says Roch . The only limitation was that the battery could last only 10 minutes at a time because we were dealing with a heavy payload. But the shot worked great.
Dekime adds, That's the restriction of having a drone with a heavy payload. But they were extremely happy with the shots that we got, and I would imagine the drone will be a part of our broadcasts to the future.
Whether it's at the Derby, the Preakness, or next month's Belmont, Dekime and Roch are just happy to see some familiar faces in the compound after such a challenging Triple Crown year in 2020.
On the technical side of things, says Roch , it's just good to see a lot of people back to work, and everyone here is so happy be back to work. These are some of the most capable people around, and it's great to be back [onsite] and see them here again.
North America Stories
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
07/05/2026
At Broadcast Asia 2026 (Stand 5H3 8), LiveU is redefining live production with its most powerful IP-video EcoSystem to date built to help broadcasters and con...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Recreating the 1974 Doctor Who Time Tunnel in After Effects
Graham Quince May 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Time Tunnel from Doctor Who titles is one of th...
07/05/2026
Back to All News
Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix Present the Trailer of ...
07/05/2026
Less typing, more tanking.
Faster logins mean more time in the gaming action - and this week provides GeForce NOW members with a smoother path straight into th...
06/05/2026
Gravity Media Chief RF Communications Engineer Glenn Willems uses Wisycom RF over Fiber and wireless solutions across major cycling events and international mar...
06/05/2026
A Sennheiser Spectera module is now available in Bitfocus Companion and Buttons, enabling direct integration of Spectera with the two software platforms. The mo...
06/05/2026
Ted Turner, the visionary media entrepreneur whose appetite for disruption helpe...
06/05/2026
The streamer aims to provide a fully integrated Spanish language experience with...
06/05/2026
Polands Miecznik-class frigates are part of the largest contract in Polish shipbuilding history. (Image Credit: PGZ Stocznia Wojenna)...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
146th Preakness Stakes: NBC's Pimlico Setup Builds on Onsite Derby Production Health and safety protocols are eased with changing CDC guidelines By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
